Altria Group (NYSE:MO) Stock Price Up 0.3%

Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO)’s stock price rose 0.3% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $44.14 and last traded at $43.96. Approximately 3,096,601 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average daily volume of 11,867,809 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.82.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MO shares. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Altria Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on Altria Group from $36.10 to $36.50 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Altria Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.90.

Altria Group Stock Up 0.4 %

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.46. The stock has a market cap of $75.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.65.

Altria Group (NYSE:MO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.15. The firm had revenue of $4.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.71 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 34.81% and a negative return on equity of 222.80%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.98 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 22nd. This represents a $3.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 8.91%. Altria Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 82.01%.

Altria Group announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 1st that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Altria Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Altria Group by 4,665.6% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,972,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $160,241,000 after buying an additional 3,888,907 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Altria Group by 54.1% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,710,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,084,000 after buying an additional 1,653,455 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Altria Group by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 9,259,451 shares of the company’s stock worth $373,526,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343,094 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Altria Group by 305,996.5% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,316,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,315,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Altria Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $525,810,000. 57.41% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Altria Group Company Profile

Altria Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells smokeable and oral tobacco products in the United States. The company offers cigarettes primarily under the Marlboro brand; large cigars and pipe tobacco under the Black & Mild brand; moist smokeless tobacco and snus products under the Copenhagen, Skoal, Red Seal, and Husky brands; oral nicotine pouches under the on! brand; and e-vapor products under the NJOY ACE brand.